BRISTLEMOUTH FISH
Editor's Note: Theo E. ('18) wrote this paper on the bristlemouth fish for his advanced chemistry class.
Recently, scientists have found that a specific kind of fish outnumbers any other vertebrate on our planet with numbers reaching above the trillions. Bristlemouths, otherwise known as roundmouths are tiny fish, smaller than the human finger (about three inches) that dwell in the ocean’s twilight zone. They are capable of opening their mouth extremely wide, and some species have bioluminescent spots, allowing them to appear invisible to predators. Before, It was thought that domestic chickens were the most populous vertebrates at a whopping 24 billion, which seems remarkably small to the almost quadrillion bristlemouths inhabiting the oceans. Scientists are still working to put together an accurate picture of what these remarkable fish look like, but they know for sure that there are more bristlemouths occupying this planet than almost any already-discovered vertebrate.
This article piqued my interest because I happen to be fascinated with the unknown when it comes to seemingly endless different types of life forms on this earth. The discovery of the bristle mouth is only a taste of what is beneath the surface. Dr. Robinson, a scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute mentioned there are “at least a million” undiscovered species living in the depths of the oceans around the world. As a global society it feels as if we sometimes forget the fact that there is so much more to explore within our own world. However, research like this opens so many more doors to what is possibly coexisting among us on this marvelous planet. Are there discoveries we have yet to make about unknown species that could possibly change the future of our earth?
By gaining a better understanding of the world we live in, scientists can pave the way to a better future. For instance, by observing the bristlemouth fish, it is possible that scientists could make groundbreaking, evolutionary discoveries, allowing potential advances in the sciences and maybe even medicine. Additionally, finding another integral piece of our planet’s puzzle could point us in the right direction to more fully understand our planet’s ecosystem, and put our own lives in perspective.
150 years ago, Charles Darwin was making revolutionary discoveries by observing the lives of foreign species, which is now the basis of our understanding of evolution. Because species like the bristlemouth fish are so foreign to us and exhibit such strange behavior, could they possibly change how we think about evolution? For example, some species of bristlemouths use counter-illumination, using their bioluminescent spots to blend in with the shadows, to make their silhouettes almost impossible to see by predators lurking above. What kind of inferences can be made from this almost mystical behavior? From an evolutionary standpoint, it is incredible to witness these bizarre adaptations, for they further the notion that almost anything is possible.
This article piqued my interest because I happen to be fascinated with the unknown when it comes to seemingly endless different types of life forms on this earth. The discovery of the bristle mouth is only a taste of what is beneath the surface. Dr. Robinson, a scientist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute mentioned there are “at least a million” undiscovered species living in the depths of the oceans around the world. As a global society it feels as if we sometimes forget the fact that there is so much more to explore within our own world. However, research like this opens so many more doors to what is possibly coexisting among us on this marvelous planet. Are there discoveries we have yet to make about unknown species that could possibly change the future of our earth?
By gaining a better understanding of the world we live in, scientists can pave the way to a better future. For instance, by observing the bristlemouth fish, it is possible that scientists could make groundbreaking, evolutionary discoveries, allowing potential advances in the sciences and maybe even medicine. Additionally, finding another integral piece of our planet’s puzzle could point us in the right direction to more fully understand our planet’s ecosystem, and put our own lives in perspective.
150 years ago, Charles Darwin was making revolutionary discoveries by observing the lives of foreign species, which is now the basis of our understanding of evolution. Because species like the bristlemouth fish are so foreign to us and exhibit such strange behavior, could they possibly change how we think about evolution? For example, some species of bristlemouths use counter-illumination, using their bioluminescent spots to blend in with the shadows, to make their silhouettes almost impossible to see by predators lurking above. What kind of inferences can be made from this almost mystical behavior? From an evolutionary standpoint, it is incredible to witness these bizarre adaptations, for they further the notion that almost anything is possible.
